Police are investigating a string of burglaries that occurred this week at restaurants inside the Glendale Galleria. Thieves broke into three restaurants sometime early Tuesday and stole cash and equipment before fleeing the mall on the 100 block of West Broadway unnoticed, according to Glendale police. “There is a strong likelihood it's that same suspect or suspects,” Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Employees at Stone Oven Grill, La Salsa and the Great Khan discovered the burglaries when they arrived at work that morning.

Darleene Barrientos Students and neighbors of Glendale Community College will be welcoming two new neighbors moving in across the street from the campus. Property managers for a food court being constructed in front of the college, at 1500 N. Verdugo Blvd., confirmed this week that Quizno's Subs and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf would be two of its tenants. The land, owned by Turian Properties, is just shy of 20,000 square feet, 5,000 of which will be leased out to three other tenants, manager Hovik Khachaturian said.

Lounging in a comfortable leather chair reading a notebook, Glendale Community College student Fabiola Prieto appeared to be right at home at Glendale's newest Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which opened Tuesday across from campus. Prieto had been anticipating the store's opening, directly across from the college where Canada and Verdugo boulevards meet. Coffee Bean is one of the main tenants of the new food court, owned and developed by Turian Properties, which is most accessible by using the college's pedestrian bridge.

The sweltering hot weather that reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit last weekend discouraged many from attending the Montrose Arts & Crafts Festival, one of the most popular events of the year for the city of Glendale. The 23rd annual Arts & Crafts Festival, held at the Montrose Shopping Park, brought more than 425 food vendors, fine artists, musicians, entertainers and craftsmen from California and out of state. The Festival has grown into an event for the entire family and features live entertainment, a children's activity area and a food court with everything from Hawaiian rotisserie chicken and Thai food to Tamales and American barbecue.

The Montrose Arts & Crafts Festival started out small 21 years ago. It has grown beyond the dreams of the original organizers, and this year, organizers have added more than 55 vendors to the event, and will be giving away thousands of free flags Sunday afternoon. This weekend, Honolulu Avenue in Montrose will fill with almost 400 vendors, plus a food court and the harvest market. "Last year we added an area for children and we added the farmers' market because we had so many people requesting it from the year before," said John Drayman, a member of the board of the Montrose Shopping Park Association, which sponsors the event.

Amber Willard GLENDALE GALLERIA -- Glendale Police have arrested two suspects but are looking for the victim in an alleged assault in the food court at the Glendale Galleria. The man was reportedly attacked by the two men shortly before 9:30 p.m. Monday when he was punched and kicked. Police arrested the two 22-year-old men from Glendale and Los Angeles, but the victim disappeared, officials said. One of the men arrested dropped a handgun from his pocket during a struggle with officers and the other had a knife, police said.

There is still room for more craft and food vendors, as well as stage performers, at this year's Unity Fest. The event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at Glendale's Verdugo Park, is the city's annual cultural festival celebrating the diversity of Glendale. Unity Fest 2005 will feature performances, arts and crafts, and a food court. To request an application to participate in Unity Fest, call Eve Rappoport at (818)

Ryan Carter GLENDALE GALLERIA -- A fire caused by an open-flame tool igniting grease in a duct system broke out Monday at the Hawaiian BBQ Express in the food court at Glendale Galleria. No one was hurt in the fire, which started around 8 a.m. Monday, Capt. Ron Stanick of Glendale Fire Engine 21 said. Plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the Galleria. At the time the fire broke out, employees were putting in an access door so they could better clean away grease in the duct area.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- Look out. A new eye-wear store is set to open at the Glendale Galleria today. Solstice is owned by LVMH Group Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, an international luxury brand company. The 1,000-square-foot Glendale location will be one of only a handful of Solstice stores throughout the U.S. In November 1999, the company opened a watch store known as Synchrony at the mall. LVMH later decided to close its Synchrony stores because they did not prove to be as successful as the Solstice locations.

Investigators are investigating the cause of a small blaze that broke out atop the Glendale Galleria early Tuesday. Smoke and fire was reported about 7:01 a.m. on a roof area above the food court inside the mall in the 100 block of West Broadway, said Brandy Villanueva, a Glendale Fire Department spokeswoman. Firefighters extinguished the blaze about 20 minutes later. No one was injured during the fire. -- Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com Follow on Google+ and on Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA . ALSO: Glendale to dedicate controversial "comfort women" statue today Prosecutors: Glendale man planned murder of ex-boyfriend to collect insurance money Three arrested for allegedly stealing mail

The Glendale Galleria, which underwent a major renovation that was unveiled last fall , is gearing up to offer a slew of new stores and eateries in the coming months and news about what will take over the former Nordstrom space could come as early as May. Meanwhile, the Americana at Brand will soon welcome a few new tasty offerings. The upcoming openings come on the heels of the opening of a Bloomingdale's store last November in the Galleria on the corner of Brand Boulevard and Broadway.

Investigators are investigating the cause of a small blaze that broke out atop the Glendale Galleria early Tuesday. Smoke and fire was reported about 7:01 a.m. on a roof area above the food court inside the mall in the 100 block of West Broadway, said Brandy Villanueva, a Glendale Fire Department spokeswoman. Firefighters extinguished the blaze about 20 minutes later. No one was injured during the fire. -- Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com Follow on Google+ and on Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA . ALSO: Glendale to dedicate controversial "comfort women" statue today Prosecutors: Glendale man planned murder of ex-boyfriend to collect insurance money Three arrested for allegedly stealing mail

Six months after getting the green light from city officials, Glendale Galleria management this week kicked off a comprehensive remodeling project, creating new entrances, facades, floors, escalators and seating at the 36-year-old mall. The work will culminate in the fall of 2013 with the opening of a 120,000-square-foot Bloomingdale's department store at Brand Boulevard and Broadway, where Mervyns once stood. “With this, Glendale Galleria will offer shoppers a much fresher look,” Galleria Senior General Manager Larry Martin said of the overhaul.

Police are investigating a string of burglaries that occurred this week at restaurants inside the Glendale Galleria. Thieves broke into three restaurants sometime early Tuesday and stole cash and equipment before fleeing the mall on the 100 block of West Broadway unnoticed, according to Glendale police. “There is a strong likelihood it's that same suspect or suspects,” Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Employees at Stone Oven Grill, La Salsa and the Great Khan discovered the burglaries when they arrived at work that morning.

Korea-based Kyochon Chicken is set to bring its southeast Asian flair to the Glendale Galleria Food Court later this week. Founded in Korea in 1991, the restaurant is the brainchild of Kyochon Chicken Chief Executive Won Kwon. There are 54 stores throughout Korea. According to Director of Operations Alexandria Yoo, Kwon’s chicken was so popular, he couldn’t keep up with demand for new store locations. “He came to the United States in 2007,” Yoo said.

The sweltering hot weather that reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit last weekend discouraged many from attending the Montrose Arts & Crafts Festival, one of the most popular events of the year for the city of Glendale. The 23rd annual Arts & Crafts Festival, held at the Montrose Shopping Park, brought more than 425 food vendors, fine artists, musicians, entertainers and craftsmen from California and out of state. The Festival has grown into an event for the entire family and features live entertainment, a children's activity area and a food court with everything from Hawaiian rotisserie chicken and Thai food to Tamales and American barbecue.

One of the three biggest events in the Montrose Shopping Park is this weekend ? the 23rd annual Arts & Crafts Festival. One of the oldest events of its type in the state, the Arts & Crafts Festival on Honolulu Avenue is the largest public event in the city of Glendale. It is sponsored by the Montrose Shopping Park Association and will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. "We have a beautiful setting ? tree-lined, flowers blooming, grass to walk on, over 200 shops," MSPA President John Drayman said.

Lounging in a comfortable leather chair reading a notebook, Glendale Community College student Fabiola Prieto appeared to be right at home at Glendale's newest Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which opened Tuesday across from campus. Prieto had been anticipating the store's opening, directly across from the college where Canada and Verdugo boulevards meet. Coffee Bean is one of the main tenants of the new food court, owned and developed by Turian Properties, which is most accessible by using the college's pedestrian bridge.

There is still room for more craft and food vendors, as well as stage performers, at this year's Unity Fest. The event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at Glendale's Verdugo Park, is the city's annual cultural festival celebrating the diversity of Glendale. Unity Fest 2005 will feature performances, arts and crafts, and a food court. To request an application to participate in Unity Fest, call Eve Rappoport at (818)

JUNE CASAGRANDE Ah, the food court -- a place where you might get your pizza from a native Farsi speaker, your wontons from a Spanish speaker and your burrito from a blond kid from Anaheim named Cody who'd rather remove his own tattoos with a pencil eraser than speak a kind word to you in any language. Imagine my surprise when, at a Valley mall, I realized that the guy making my crepe was actually French. As his accent tipped me off, I found myself in a situation I've been in a hundred times -- torn between seizing an opportunity to practice my state U francais or clamming up and sparing myself certain embarrassment.